Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 ARLENE 1/1/85; site dalcs.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utcsri!utai!garfield!dalcs!silvert
From: silvert@dalcs.UUCP (Bill Silvert)
Newsgroups: net.sources.d
Subject: checkmail
Message-ID: 
Date: Tue, 19-Aug-86 07:10:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: dalcs.2012
Posted: Tue Aug 19 07:10:49 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 27-Aug-86 12:00:38 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: Marine Ecology Lab.
Lines: 9

(1) so far as touching an empty file to keep track of when you last
checked your mail, why not just touch .mailrc, assuming you use it?

(2) the checking of dates is easily incorporated in the PD checkmail
that was recently posted to the net.  Use stat(mailbox, &buf) to get the
dates of the mailbox and the comparison file (I use .mailrc), and
depending on the order of buf.st_ctime notify the user of new or old
mail.  I touch $HOME/.mailrc in my .login and .logout files, so that when
I login I know whether mail has arrived since I last logged off.